8 Ways to Scare off Job Seekers

You have just opened a job vacancy description and I have already scared you off. Why would I describe the job properly, why should I be polite and helpful? There are a lot of you and I'm unique: such a big and beautiful company. CleverControl found out which mistakes companies often make that turn away potential employees.

Already at the stage of exploring a job vacancy a candidate feels like the information is withheld from him or her... Hannah Long the HR Manager of online hypermarket of tours in Travellini comments on that problem:

If we talk about average candidates then vague job description is definitely among the factors stopping the applicant from making a decision about the employment in your company. The lack of the office address (of the actual workplace), salary level, functional responsibilities, lack of contact person and mobile phone of the company are a big NO for a job vacancy.

Factors of clarity such as cash-in-hand and non-transparent financial schemes are very off-putting," – says Karen Richards, Director of recruitment and business development in Consulting company SL-Team - "Equally bad are reputational factors associated with unfair treatment of employees, and more formal ones, for example, the management’s involvement in scandals or some criminal cases under investigation

Expert, coach Carl Smith continues the list:

Even in times of crisis, not everyone is willing to sacrifice their psychological comfort, which concerns the atmosphere in the company and its corporate culture. Scandals, a sharp change of course, the imposition of guilt to those who are innocent, the immorality in the relationships (including financial ones) are all cons, which can paint a generally negative picture. The thing is - many people actually don't want to work in companies acting as an outright fraud on the market. Whether you like it or not

Contrary to the widely proclaimed view that the key to making the decision on starting work in any company are the size of the salary or scale of the business, for a typical candidate fundamental requirement is stability,” – says Nicholas Kennedy, General Director of the credit broker Fine Agency

It is an entirely different question how this stability is manifested: it can be on-time payments, achievable and stable guaranteed level of bonuses, formalized employment, and much more. The greatest influence, in this case, is rather the previous negative experience of the candidate

Often the description of a vacancy reveals an unhealthy atmosphere in the team, has signs of violation of rights. Christina Allen, business coach, consultant on effective leadership, business communications and psychology of labour relations, says that among the factors that have the strongest repulsive effect on candidate "the provoking aggressive text of the job descriptions (for example, "we don't need ...", "if you do not bother to write a cover letter, we have nothing to talk to you," etc.), signs of mobbing and other violations of the rights of employees in the company in the job description – "high stress, ability to work under pressure, with difficult managers", "long working hours" in professions where there's no need for that.

The labor market is evolving towards automation. Professionals who are engaged in mass hiring and work on the level of simple resume analysis (suitable/not suitable) can be successfully replaced by automated programs in the coming years. There is a high probability that in the next few years only highly qualified recruiters will remain in demand. And yet we must understand that, despite all the advantages of using new technologies, for greater efficiency, we should be able to combine automated programs and recruiters’ work.

Also repelling are pseudo-professional test like "draw a tree, a cucumber and a melon", attempts to arrange a stress interview, personal questions ("why are you still not married", "does your weight create problems", "do you always come to interviews dressed like an IT-guy", etc.).

In addition, during the interview with the manager, there can be "lordly manners", a blatant tyranny, stress methods, the opacity of requirements and the evaluation system, the uncertainty of prospects etc. All of these factors can be interpreted as subjective, but experience shows that their impact is big enough and disregarding them can cost the company the loss of valuable talent."

"If the future employer behaves arrogantly, showing that you are just a cog in a big machine of the company, there is nothing good waiting for you there,” confirms Executive Director of the marketing agency "APlan" Albert Stone. “I'm not even talking about arrogance or stupid questions. After that, they will tell you about the amount of work your position implies which can be incommensurate with the potential salary. When you are prepared for the meeting and read the reviews about the company if they were negative then to going to such negotiations is not worth it, you will be very disappointed."

"It is unlikely that the applicant will make the decision on employment in your company if to the question "Where is the predecessor?" you answer that he or she is still working but you are secretly looking for a replacement," says Hannah Long the HR Manager of Travellini.

The General Director of recruitment Agency Clearman Solutions Roger Salazar comments:

"As a rule, the first impression is based on the "Expectation - Reality" paradigm. That’s why it is so

subjective, as expectations usually are desires and wishes. At this stage a person can be repelled by anything that does not match his or her way of thinking: for example, rudeness, inappropriate dress code, unpresentable office, the unattractive appearance of the HR-manager and much more.

Negative insight may even be influenced by the negative reviews of the staff that were left a very long time ago, although, in most cases, they can be incorrect and irrelevant."

Now a rare candidate does not read reviews about the companies at special sites, where current and former employees sometimes are not too shy in expressions.

"The most striking trend among job seekers over the last few years has been the analysis of the reputation of a potential employer on the Internet, – says Craig Arnold, CEO of ReputAble. – We are regularly contacted by HR departments of different companies due to the fact that suitable candidates either do not come to the interview or withdraw from employment in the company after reading the negative reviews online. You can offer great benefits, beautiful office, interesting work, but this is not enough. If the applicant decides that the management is unacceptable based on reading reviews websites he or she won't work for you."

This argument is confirmed by Kathryn Berry, Deputy Head of administrative and personnel services of the company "XSClick":

"The company's reputation has always been and remains an important factor for both employers and job seekers. Today it is particularly important to maintain and develop the company's image at a high level. Nowadays not only the HR Department examines the candidates, including their behavior on social networks, but also the candidates themselves can easily find and contact your former employees. Despite my firm belief that if necessary it is important to let go every employee on good terms, the former employee may have his or her own opinion, which is also able to affect the final decision of the candidate."

"The candidate is not the only one who should prepare carefully for the interview,” says the HR Manager of Travellini Hannah Long. “The interviewer should do that too and sometimes even more carefully. Candidate buys a place in the company, and the interviewer sells it. And like any product, your company must have the right image. Loyalty to the entire organization emerges in the first minute of meeting you. The desire to become part of your team now or perhaps later, to recommend your company to friends (and to spoil your reputation as well) depends on a well-conducted interview."